Assertion: A critical review.

Abstract

The article reviews the definition, assessment procedures, theoretical formulations, and the empirical studies on assertive behavior and assertion training. Issues discussed related to the definition of assertion include the nature of assertive behavior, differentiating assertion from aggression, and delimiting the bounds of assertion. Paper-andpencil, behavioral, and in vivo measures of assertion are presented along with the pertinent problems of the measurement of assertive behavior. Of the existing 13 paper-and-pencil measures of assertion, the six measures which have adequate reliability and some validational support are reviewed. Present theoretical formulations of assertive behavior/training are considered and suggestions for expansion of the theoretical base are made. The current status of assertion training packages and components of those packages are examined. Finally, the issues of generalizability and durability of the results as well as the role of the organismic variables are discussed.Assertion training (Wolpe, 1958) is considered one of the fundamental therapeutic interventions of the behavior therapist. Within the past five years, the field of behavior therapy has witnessed a rapid expansion of both clinical and research interest in this technique.This article critically reviews the theoretical and empirical studies of assertive behavior and assertion training. Included is a discussion of the definitional and assessment issues relevant to assertive behavior, a consideration of the theoretical underpinnings of training, and an evaluation and integration of the training research.

Purpose and object of anti-consumption

“…Alberti and Emmons (1974, p. 2) define consumer assertiveness as behavior which enables a person to act in his or her own best interests, to stand up for himself or herself without undue anxiety, to express his or her honest feelings comfortably, or to exercise his or her rights without denying the rights of others. Galassi and Galassi (1978), in their extensive review of the assertiveness literature, delineated seven behavioral dimensions of assertiveness: (i) standing up for one's rights; (ii) initiating and refusing requests; (iii) giving and receiving compliments; (iv) initiating, maintaining and terminating conversations;…”

A Cognitive Perspective for Understanding and Training Assertiveness

“…Even if the concept of assertiveness has been evolving over time, there is a notorious lack of recent research primarily intending to understand this skill, in addition to a general research gap intending to make joint sense of these early findings. In contrast, relevant reviews have been presented on differentiating assertive from passive and aggressive behavior (Bishop, 2010;Galassi & Galassi, 1978;Marchezini-Cunha & Tourinho, 2010). They have also considered other constructs assertiveness seems to relate to, such but neglect to approach it as a complex and mutable psychosocial skill.…”

“…Even if the concept of assertiveness has been evolving over time, there is a notorious lack of recent research primarily intending to understand this skill, in addition to a general research gap intending to make joint sense of these early findings. In contrast, relevant reviews have been presented on differentiating assertive from passive and aggressive behavior (Bishop, 2010;Galassi & Galassi, 1978;Marchezini-Cunha & Tourinho, 2010). They have also considered other constructs assertiveness seems to relate to, such as diminished sexual risk behaviors and risk for sexually transmitted diseases (Kennedy & Jenkins, 2011), self-protection from sexual abuse and victimization (Santos-Iglesias & Sierra, 2010), academic and psychosocial success in adolescence (Mayuski, 2010), and diminished social anxiety in children and adolescents (Levitan & Nardi, 2009 Peneva & Mavrodiev, 2013), but neglect to approach it as a complex and mutable psychosocial skill.…”

The Assertive Interaction Coding System

“…Historically, researchers and clinicians have set up their own definitions and developed instruments to measure responses that they viewed as "assertive." The definitions of assertive behavior have been influenced by the experimenters' and therapists' personal and theoretical value persuasions perhaps more than any other behavioral construct (Galassi and Galassi, 1978). As Adler (1977) has noted, "There are almost as many definitions of assertiveness as there are assertiveness trainers" (p. 6).…”